Linda Perry

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Linda Perry
Perry smiling
Perry in 2010
Born (1965-04-15) April 15, 1965 (age 58)
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
  • record producer
Years active1989–present
Spouse
(m. 2014; sep. 2019)
Children1
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Labels
Formerly of4 Non Blondes

Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965)[1] is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels and composed and produced songs for other artists, which include: "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera; "What You Waiting For?" by Gwen Stefani; and "Get the Party Started" by Pink. Perry has also contributed to albums by Adele, Alicia Keys, and Courtney Love, as well as signing and distributing James Blunt[2] in the United States. Perry was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015.

Early life[edit]

In 1965, Perry was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.[1] Growing up in an artistic and musical household, Perry displayed an interest in music from an early age. She has struggled with kidney disease and then drug addiction.[1] Her mother is Brazilian (Marluce Martins Perry) and her father is Portuguese-American (Alfred Xavier Perry).

Career[edit]

1987–89: early career[edit]

In San Francisco, Perry lived in a small, windowless room, and would play her guitar and sing her own songs on city streets. Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins, who at the time was also a struggling musician living in San Francisco, later recalled sitting in a room with Perry, who worked as a waitress down the street, performing their original compositions to one another. The two played each other early versions of "Semi-Charmed Life" and "What's Up?", both of which would become massive hits for their respective bands. It would be decades later that Jenkins realized the songs performed in that private session would sell a combined 17 million records.[3]

Perry performed solo at Bay Area clubs and coffeehouses, including Nightbreak,[4] Paradise Lounge,[5][6] DNA Lounge, and The Kennel Club.[7][8][9]

1989–95: 4 Non Blondes[edit]

Perry composed her first professional song, called "Down On Your Face," and was recruited into the band 4 Non Blondes by its founder Christa Hillhouse in the middle of 1989.[10]

The band got its start in the San Francisco bar scene, especially lesbian bars, gaining a significant lesbian following.[11][12] In July 1991, the band was signed to Interscope following a performance at the Gavin Convention, where they opened for Primus on Valentine's Day of the same year.[citation needed]

The band's only album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, spent 59 weeks on the Billboard 200 and sold 1.5 million copies between 1992 and 1994.[13] The band hit the charts in 1993 with the release of the album's second single, "What's Up?".[citation needed] The single was successful in the United States.[14]

The band contributed the song "Mary's House" to the film Wayne's World 2 in 1993.[15]

The group disbanded in late 1994 during the recording of their second album. Perry has said that she had been unhappy with Bigger, Better, Faster, More![11] She has also explained that her sexuality had a part to play in her tensions with the group.[13]

In a 2011 Rolling Stone interview, Perry stated that she "wasn't really a big fan" of 4 Non Blondes due to her dislike for the sound of Bigger, Better, Faster, More![16]

1996–2010: solo career[edit]

Linda Perry in May 2008

Perry made a solo CD with Interscope. The production team selected was Kevin Gilbert,[17] Bill Bottrell, and members of the Tuesday Night Music Club, who had recently produced Sheryl Crow's debut. Released in 1996, In Flight, the release received positive notices, but was a poor seller. Perry joined Red Fish, Blue Fish for her world tour, supporting such acts as The Who.[citation needed] She promoted her CD with an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, during which she participated in "lesbian dial-a-date" and performed her former band's only hit single, "What's Up?" Perry also hosted the 1997[18] and 1998 Bammies (Bay Area Music Awards).

In 1999, she released her second solo album on Rockstar Records, After Hours. Also in 1999, she opened for Bryan Adams. Perry re-released her solo album In Flight in October 2005.

On November 5, 2010, Perry appeared live in San Francisco with 4 Non Blondes guitar player Roger Rocha at TwentyFifty (formerly CELLSpace). The appearance celebrated the release of Rocha's album with his band The Golden Hearts. Perry performed a solo set of cover tunes, including Radiohead's "Creep" and Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun". Perry and Roger Rocha performed one song together, Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You".[19]

2001–2010: production and songwriting[edit]

In 2000, Perry was contacted by pop rock singer Pink, seeking production and songwriting assistance on her second album.[2] Perry co-wrote and produced much of Pink's successful album Missundaztood, which brought Perry back into the spotlight as a music producer. Perry took full writing credits for the songs "Get the Party Started" and "Lonely Girl". Perry next provided Christina Aguilera the hit "Beautiful".

In 2003, Perry won two American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers awards for her songwriting, and a Grammy Awards nomination for her song "Beautiful" as a contender for "Song of the Year"; the song received the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards.

She collaborated with art-dance duo Fischerspooner on a few songs for their upcoming release and ended the year with a few co-writing credits on Gwen Stefani's debut, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., including the album's first single, "What You Waiting For?" Additionally, her Atlantic-distributed label, Custard Records, was launched to promote two new acts, Sunshine and James Blunt. She produced and played guitar on the recording of Blunt's song "No Bravery".[20] The year ended with Perry co-writing "Save Me" for the southern California punk rock band Unwritten Law.

Perry contributed to Christina Aguilera's third studio album, Back to Basics (2006). Perry and Aguilera co-wrote every song on the album's second disc.

The year 2007 saw Perry working with Vanessa Carlton on her third studio album, Heroes and Thieves.

Perry won an award from the San Francisco chapter of the Recording Academy for her contribution to the world of music.

Perry signed the group Little Fish to her label in 2008 and began producing its album,[21][22] titled Baffled and Beat,[23] which was released in August 2010.[24] Also in that same year, she collaborated with Daniel Powter to produce his third studio album Under the Radar.[25]

She wrote and produced "A Loaded Smile" for the 2009 debut album For Your Entertainment by Adam Lambert. Aguilera's sixth studio album, Bionic, released in 2010, included another track, written and produced solely by Perry, "Lift Me Up".

2010–2020: recent career[edit]

Perry announced on her Facebook and Twitter profiles in June that she was "going to make an album" with her new band Deep Dark Robot, which she founded with Tony Tornay.[26][27][28] The album, 8 Songs About a Girl, was promoted with the single "Won't You Be My Girl?" Perry imagined the name Deep Dark Robot as part of an ad-libbed song lyric—"deep dark robot falling in love"—and decided to hang onto the name for her next musical project.[29] The band released the album in March 2011 and began touring.

In 2014, Perry appeared in the VH1 reality television show Make or Break: The Linda Perry Project, in which she worked with up-and-coming musicians, like VanJess and winner Hemming.[30]

Perry was scheduled to appear as the house band in a special series of late night editions of The Talk airing the week of January 12, 2015 in the 12:34 am time slot of The Late Late Show.[31]

In June 2015, Perry was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at a ceremony in New York.

In 2015, Perry wrote the theme song for the film Freeheld titled "Hands of Love," performed by Miley Cyrus.

Perry co-wrote a song with Adele for her 2015 album 25 titled "Can't Let Go" which was included as a bonus track on the Target and Japanese editions. Perry played piano, produced and engineered the track.[32]

In 2018 Perry collaborated with Dolly Parton, writing the Golden Globe-nominated "Girl In The Movies" for the Netflix film Dumplin'.[33]

In 2020, Perry co-wrote "A Beautiful Noise" with seven other female writers - Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Hailey Whitters and Ruby Amanfu - and the song was performed by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile with the purpose of inspiring American voters to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.[34]

iPhone sessions[edit]

In July 2011, Perry started to publish a set of acoustic cover songs that she recorded with her iPhone, including "Mad World" by Tears for Fears, "Just What I Needed" by the Cars, and "Creep" by Radiohead, among many others. On her Facebook account, she wrote: "iPhone sessions are me sitting at my piano an recording song into iPhone voice memo. Then I post it. Very simple enjoy :)"[35]

We Are Hear[edit]

In 2017, Perry partnered with Kerry Brown to launch We Are Hear, a record label, music publisher, and artist management company based in Los Angeles.[36] Under their leadership, the company has signed recording artists Natasha Bedingfield, Imogen Heap, Dorothy, and Willa Amai among others, and collaborated with artist Kii Arens.[37][38][39] Perry has also co-curated events with We Are Hear such as One Love Malibu festival in 2018, which raised $1 million in relief funds for damage caused by the Woolsey Fire, and The Art of Elysium fundraiser Heaven Is Rock & Roll in 2020, featuring the surviving members of Nirvana (Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and Krist Novoselic) performing alongside Beck and St. Vincent, in addition to performances from Cheap Trick, L7, and Marilyn Manson.[40][41][42][43]

Personal life[edit]

Perry with her now ex-wife Sara Gilbert at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's An Evening with Women event in 2014

Perry moved from San Diego to San Francisco and lived there until 1997, moving to Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.[44]

Perry is a lesbian. In 1995, she told a journalist from The Advocate, "All my life I've loved women, and that's it. I've never been any other way."[45] Earlier at the 1994 Billboard Music Awards she displayed the slang word "dyke" on her guitar for a performance with 4 Non Blondes.[46]

Perry was in a relationship with actress Clementine Ford from 2009 to 2010.[47][48][49]

Perry began a relationship with actress Sara Gilbert in 2011.[50][51] They announced their engagement in April 2013 and married on March 30, 2014.[52] Gilbert gave birth to their son on February 28, 2015. Perry was the stepmother of Gilbert's son and daughter from a previous relationship with television producer Ali Adler.[53][54] In December 2019, Gilbert filed for legal separation from Perry.[55][56]

Discography[edit]

Solo works[edit]

Albums[edit]

List of albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
AUS
[57]
AUT
[58]
NZ
[59]
SWI
[60]
In Flight 65 39 40 50
After Hours
  • Released: 1999
  • Label: Rockstar Records
Deer Sounds
(as Linda Perry + Sara Gilbert's Deer Sounds)

Singles[edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[57]
NZ
[59]
"Fill Me Up" 1996 63 30 In Flight
"Freeway"

Production and songwriting[edit]

Singles produced or written by Linda Perry

Year Song Artist Peak chart positions
US UK GER ITA AUS
2001 "Get the Party Started" Pink 4 2 2 4 1
2002 "Beautiful" Christina Aguilera 2 1 4 8 1
2003 "Tomorrow" Lillix
2004 "What You Waiting For?" Gwen Stefani 47 4 22 2 1
"Mono" Courtney Love 41
2005 "One Word" Kelly Osbourne 121 9 60 38
"Idiot" Lisa Marie Presley
"Save Me (Wake Up Call)" Unwritten Law 108
"Redlight" Kelly Osbourne 73
2006 "Wonderful Life" Gwen Stefani
"Perfect Stranger" Cheap Trick
"Hurt" Christina Aguilera 19 11 2 11 9
"Nothing But" Skin
2007 "Candyman" Christina Aguilera 25 17 11 8 2
"Where Do We Go" Ben Jelen
2008 "Superwoman" Alicia Keys 82 128 43 57
"Next Plane Home" Daniel Powter 70
"Keeps Gettin' Better" Christina Aguilera 7 14 14 12 26
"My Love" Celine Dion
"Best of Me" Daniel Powter
2009 "La Scala (The Ladder)" Giusy Ferreri 27
2011 "Put Your Hearts Up" Ariana Grande
2015 "Hands of Love" Miley Cyrus
2020 "A Beautiful Noise" Alicia Keys & Brandi Carlile
2023 "Let's Take A Shot" Pitbull & Vikina 75

Other appearances[edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Critics' Choice Movie Awards[edit]

Year Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2018 Best Song "Girl in the Movies"[a] Nominated [61]

Georgia Film Critics Association[edit]

Year Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2018 Best Original Song "Girl in the Movies"[a] Nominated [62]

Golden Globe Awards[edit]

Year Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2018 Best Original Song "Girl in the Movies"[a] Nominated [63]

Grammy Awards[edit]

Year Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2003 Song of the Year "Beautiful" Nominated [64]
2005 Album of the Year Love. Angel. Music. Baby.[b] Nominated
2018 Producer of the Year, Non-Classical Nominated
2019 Best Song Written for Visual Media "Girl in the Movies"[a] Nominated
2021 Song of the Year "A Beautiful Noise"[c] Nominated

Guild of Music Supervisors Awards[edit]

Year Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2018 Best Song/Recording Created for a Film "Girl in the Movies"[d] Nominated [65]

Hollywood Music in Media Awards[edit]

Year Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2018 Best Original Song in a Feature Film "Girl in the Movies"[a] Nominated [66]

Songwriters Hall of Fame[edit]

Year Award Result Ref.
2015 Songwriters Hall of Fame Inducted [67]

Žebřík Music Awards[edit]

Year Award Nominated work Result Ref.
1993 Best International Female Herself Nominated [68]
1994 Nominated
1996 Nominated

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Shared with Dolly Parton.
  2. ^ As a Producer.
  3. ^ Shared with Ruby Amanfu, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Alicia Keys, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Hailey Whitters.
  4. ^ Shared with Dolly Parton and Buck Damon.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Anderson, Jason. "Artist Biography [Linda Perry]". AllMusic.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Linda Perry interview". HitQuarters. Retrieved January 5, 2006.
  3. ^ "'There Was No Overnight Success': An Oral History of Third Eye Blind's Self-Titled Debut". Billboard. April 6, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "4 Non Blondes". Music database - Band. Radio Swiss Pop. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Goodbye, Paradise Lounge". SFist. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  6. ^ Dugas, Andrew O. (28 January 2016). "In Memoriam: The Paradise Lounge". Medium. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Linda Perry". setlist.fm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  8. ^ http://outweek.net/pdfs/ow_28.pdf
  9. ^ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Mix-Magazine/90s/93/Mix-1993-12.pdf
  10. ^ "About Christa Hillhouse". CHILLHOUSE MUSIC. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  11. ^ a b Bono, Chastity (September 15, 1995). "Linda Perry: The lesbian singer of 4 Non Blondes goes solo with a bold and honest album". The Advocate. Vol. 609. pp. 37–40.
  12. ^ Walters, Barry (September 17, 1996). "Nonblonde ambition". The Advocate. Vol. 716. pp. 81–82. ISSN 0001-8996.
  13. ^ a b Halperin, Shirley (July 26, 2015). "Linda Perry's Breaking Point". Billboard. Vol. 126, no. 23. pp. 48–51.
  14. ^ "Linda Perry interview". Guitar Center. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  15. ^ "4 Non Blondes Triumph Following A 'Shaky' Start". Billboard. December 11, 1993.
  16. ^ "Linda Perry Forms New Band, Admits She Never Liked 4 Non Blondes". Rolling Stone. March 30, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  17. ^ Selvin, Joel (15 September 1996). "More Than 'The Piano Player' / Dumped by Sheryl Crow after propelling her to success, brilliant musician Kevin Gilbert died before finding his own". SFGATE. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Bay Area Music Awards (Bammies) 1997". setlist.fm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  19. ^ Chad Tasky, video footage posted on YouTube, recorded November 5, 2010 at Cell Space in San Francisco.
  20. ^ Liner notes from Back to Bedlam
  21. ^ "Little Fish Sign Record Deal!". Little Fish Official Website. June 20, 2008. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  22. ^ "Little Fish special". BBC Oxford. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  23. ^ "First Review Of Our Album "Baffled & Beat"". Myspace. February 9, 2010. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  24. ^ "CUSTARD RECORDS: Little Fish Bio". Custard Records. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  25. ^ Blakeney, Jerome. "BBC - Music - Review of Daniel Powter - Under The Radar". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  26. ^ "LINDA PERRY on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  27. ^ "Deep Dark Robot". Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  28. ^ "Featured Content on Myspace". Myspace. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  29. ^ "Linda Perry with her new project Deep Dark Robot, you dont want to miss it". Archived from the original on April 6, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  30. ^ Leight, Elias (October 22, 2014), "Exclusive: Hemming Premieres 'Vitamins,' A Song That Made Linda Perry Cry", Billboard, retrieved July 6, 2015
  31. ^ "Breaking News - Guests Announced for "The Late Late Show" with Guest Host Drew Carey (1/5-1/9) and After-Dark Edition of "The Talk" (1/12-1/16) - TheFutonCritic.com". Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  32. ^ "Adele - 25 - Target Exclusive". Target. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  33. ^ Willman, Chris (November 29, 2018). "Dolly Parton, Happy to Just Write Songs for 'Dumplin',' Is Ready to Act in '9 to 5' Sequel". Variety. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  34. ^ "Watch Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile premiere new song 'A Beautiful Noise' | NME". NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  35. ^ "Profile of on Konect.me". Konect.me. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  36. ^ "Linda Perry Launches New Label and Publishing Company". Variety. July 12, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  37. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (January 30, 2019). "Linda Perry, pioneering producer, smashing through history". Associated Press. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  38. ^ Sacher, Andrew (June 21, 2019). "Imogen Heap releasing new album of collaborations, shares "The Quiet" with Baths". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  39. ^ Directo-Meston, Danielle (February 20, 2019). "Val Kilmer Talks Latest Art Show, Joking With Tom Cruise on 'Top Gun: Maverick' Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  40. ^ Fadroski, Kelli (November 22, 2018). "Katy Perry, Gwen Stefani, Robin Thicke and more will perform at Woolsey fire fundraiser". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  41. ^ "One Love Malibu Benefit Concert Raises $1 Million For Victims of Woolsey Fire". TMZ. December 3, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  42. ^ Helman, Peter (November 22, 2018). "Katy Perry, Gwen Stefani, Chris Martin Playing One Love Malibu Festival For Fire Relief". Stereogum. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  43. ^ Miller, Jeff (January 5, 2020). "Dave Grohl and Friends (and Daughter) Deliver Nirvana Classics at Art of Elysium Gala". Variety. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  44. ^ Wolfe, Beatie (26 July 2020). "My LA: Linda Perry talks life in a locked down Los Angeles". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  45. ^ Bono, Chastity (September 15, 1995). "Linda Perry: The lesbian singer of 4 Non Blondes goes solo with a bold and honest album". The Advocate. 690: 37–40.
  46. ^ "Music Video". glbtq.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
  47. ^ Flick, Larry (January 2004). "'Beautiful', Damn It: The Linda Perry-Penned Christina Aguilera Hit—Not to Mention the Sexy Video—Was the Great Queer Anthem of 2003". The Advocate. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  48. ^ "Clementine Ford Confirms Relationship with Linda Perry". afterellen.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  49. ^ Comingore, Aly (April 20, 2011). "Five Questions With Linda Perry". independent.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  50. ^ Grossberg, Josh. "Sara Gilbert Talks Relationship With Linda Perry on The Talk". E Online. November 30, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  51. ^ "Archive blogs". Los Angeles Times.
  52. ^ Lee, Esther (March 31, 2014). "Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry Are Married". US Weekly. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  53. ^ "Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry Welcome Son Rhodes Emilio". People. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  54. ^ Christie D'Zurilla (March 2, 2015). "Sara Gilbert, Linda Perry are parents of a new baby boy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  55. ^ Contreras, Cyndey (December 27, 2019). "Sara Gilbert Separates from Wife Linda Perry After 5 Years of Marriage". E! Online. United States: NBCUniversal. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  56. ^ Cardoza, Riley (19 October 2021). "Sara Gilbert, Linda Perry's Custody Agreement for Son Rhodes". Us Weekly. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  57. ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 216.
  58. ^ "Discographie Linda Perry". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  59. ^ a b "Discography Linda Perry". charts.nz. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  60. ^ "Linda Perry – In Flight". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  61. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (December 10, 2018). "'The Favourite,' 'Black Panther,' 'First Man' Lead Critics' Choice Movie Nominations". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  62. ^ "8th Annual GAFCA Awards". Georgia Film Critics Association. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  63. ^ "Linda Perry". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  64. ^ "Linda Perry". Grammy Awards. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  65. ^ "The 10th Annual GMS Awards". Guild of Music Supervisors Awards. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  66. ^ "2018 Music in Visual Media Nominations". Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  67. ^ "Linda Perry". Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  68. ^ "1996-1992 – Anketa Žebřík".

External links[edit]